I and the Bird Original Archives

“A tiny wren was among the Chrysanthemums this morning,
noiselessly flitting in and out, like a little shade;
evidently in a state of the highest enjoyment.
No doubt I and the bird both took our pleasure with them in different ways!”
— Eleanor Vere Boyle

The original I and the Bird was a blog carnival celebrating the interaction of human and avian, an ongoing exploration of the endless fascination with birdlife all around the world. From July 2005 to April 2011, I and the Bird serves as a biweekly showcase of the best bird writing on the web. And at #149 editions, IATB held — and may still hold today — the distinction of being the world’s longest-running nature blog carnival.

Blog carnivals, as defined below, eventually waned in relevance as social media channels became the preferred platforms for content curation. The bird blogosphere also evolved over time. However, the collaborative spirit that connected a community of hundreds of nature writers around the world still persists. In November 2012, I and the Bird emerged from hiatus to become a new form of blog carnival, one that seeks to present the best bird writing on the web in a more valuable and enduring way. If you haven’t seen it yet, enjoy the new I and the Bird!

This page serves as a tribute to the trailblazing spirit and inspiring creativity our international community of nature lovers exhibited over nearly six years of amazing editions of the original I and the Bird.

I AND THE BIRDS FAQ

What is a blog?
Funny that there was a time when people didn’t know what a blog was! For these purposes, a blog (or web log) is simply a dynamic online journal of activity presented in reverse chronological order, latest entry first. You don’t need comments, RSS feeds, or fancy blog software to have a blog; all you need is periodically updated content presented in the standard blog format.

What is a carnival?
A blog carnival is a periodic presentation of excellent blog writing, selected and submitted by the authors themselves. The first carnival, Carnival of the Vanities, sought to showcase posts that bloggers felt were their very best, which is why such a collection can be called a vanity. Subsequent carnivals developed in the same spirit, but were usually focused on a particular theme. The one that influenced I and the Bird was been the tragically defunct Tangled Bank, a carnival for science, medicine, and natural history bloggers. At one time, most niches of nature writing elicited their own specific blog carnivals; a comprehensive list of past and current nature carnivals can be found at the Nature Blog Network.

One of the defining traits of the original carnival concept was that the responsibility or perhaps honor of being the host rotated. Each installment was edited by a different blogger and hosted on that person’s blog. Though hosting a carnival demanded an excess of coordination, communication, and creativity, most bloggers claimed to find the experience quite satisfying. The potentially dramatic increase in traffic didn’t hurt either. When readers stopped following blog carnivals, the end of this unique internet art form was nigh…

COLLECTED EDITIONS OF THE ORIGINAL I AND THE BIRD

Readers with the time to browse should explore the links below. Each host endeavored to outdo every other in terms of originality and eloquence. You’ll find this archive a testament to the talent that emerged in our burgeoning bird blogosphere along with a shared joy in the discussion and discovery of birds and birding around the world.